Cat Chasing

Ellie has taken to chasing the cat back and forth across our house. Now, this is slow and steady chasing, but chasing none the less. Pekoe likes to sit at the side-light next to our front door and peer out at the street. He also likes to sit at our back sliding glass door and watch the bunnies and birds go by. Ellie scoots herself up behind him and watches his tail flick back and forth. She gets just close enough to grab at him and Pekoe jumps up, annoyed and bounds away - usually back to the opposite window. Ellie turns around and heads back toward him. A game full of never-ending fun... until she really gets his tail and he decides to scratch or something....

For the last few days, Eleanor has slept more than usual and more deeply than usual in the afternoons and evenings. I think her marathon cat chasing may have something to do with this!

Thanksgiving

Since Seth had to work today we didn't travel for Thanksgiving. Instead, we were invited to join some of our neighbors for their Thanksgiving celebration. We went back and forth for a while, trying to decide if we should have our own Thanksgiving at home as a family or join the Hines'. We ended up heading over to the Hines' and had a fabulous time. Unfortunately, none of us thought to get a picture of everyone at the table, or even the table at all... but I did get some very cute pictures of Eleanor, Matthew and Ryan - the children of our gathering. Those in attendance yesterday were: Mark and Lynette, their two boys Matthew and Ryan, Mark's mother Mary, Mark's brother Paul, Seth, Eleanor and I.

The meal was quite traditional and yummy and we had a good time getting to know all who were there. Lynette has been an especially important person to me during this transition to life in Wyoming. She and I have walked, had coffee and chatted often. Her youngest, Ryan (1st grade), just adores Ellie and they have watched her for me on several much needed occasions. We were thankful for their hospitality and welcomeness.

Lynette, Ellie, Ryan and Matthew

Ryan holding Eleanor

Ryan and Ellie playing trucks while Grandma Mary looks on

Ryan feeding Ellie her Thanksgiving meal - don't you love her oatmeal beard!?

We forgot her bib, thus a napkin and cloths pin had to do!

Before the meal, we all shared 2 things we were thankful for. This year, Seth is thankful for friends and family. He is loving watching our immediate family grow and change with the addition of our beautiful daughter and is happy we are able to have lots of communication with our extended family as well. He is also grateful for the experience of gaining new friends here in Sheridan while keeping in touch with older friends who are far away. He finds it interesting and encouraging to see which of our friends we are able to stay in touch with even from a distance and how that distance sometimes makes our bonds grow even tighter. I am especially thankful this season for the chance to stay home each day with our wonderful girl. These days I'm finding our time together to be particularly fun and rewarding. I'm also grateful for the new friends we are beginning to make here in Wyoming. I'm thankful that everyone we've met has been kind and welcoming and that we seem to have landed on a wonderful street where people talk with each other often and help out where they can.

We hope your Thanksgivings were filled with goodness and light! Much love to you all.

To Bazaar?

On Saturday, the town of Sheridan was taken over by a slew of bazaars. Apparently, the weekend before Thanksgiving attending bazaars is the thing to do... and so we did. As we got in the car, Seth said, "I really wish bazaar was a verb."

And, here he is, at the Exhibition Hall in all his bazaaring glory:

... while Ellie slept...

... and Dianne and I found some special highlights of the day...

There were quite a few bazaars scheduled for Saturday (like 8 or 10) and a neighbor gave us a map of Sheridan with all of them marked on it. We had planned to make an appearance at quite a few of them, but only ended up going to three. Three was plenty. :)

On Friday night, while having dinner with Dianne, we were discussing our plans for the weekend and this bazaaring event was mentioned. Over the course of the conversation Seth mentioned he would have more fun if we had a contest to see who could find the kitchyist item of the day. We decided it was best to simply take pictures of the items rather than having to buy them... So, amidst quite a few cute, festive, holiday items we found the crocheted barbie dolls and antler candlebras. I was really looking for an extra-large dreamcatcher to replace the old one from the living room... alas.

We definitely enjoyed ourselves on this outing, though, and did come home with some great items. Seth and I found 3 awesome photographs of several local settings that we will put together in a collage frame for the living room, we were given a wonderfully colorful picture of My Little Ponies by one Kayli Rose, and we found a super cute, home-made Christmas party dress for Miss Eleanor. The whole bazaar scene was a bit bizarre to us, but it was also mildly reminiscent of our Saturday Market sojourns, which we miss mightily. It was fun to see the types of crafts people do here in NE Wyoming and we got a few ideas for our next crafty projects as well as a few ideas we'll just really never try...

Later in the afternoon, Dianne, Ellie, Seth and I headed out to Neltje's Antiques. It is about 20 miles out of town and we enjoyed the scenic trip. Neither Seth nor I had ever been out that way, so it was fun to see a bit more of the Wyoming countryside. Neltje's was AMAZING. We had a great time looking around, getting tons of decorating ideas and finding Howard's refinishing products. I'm now looking forward to some work on my piano... We also found a wonderful little red rocking chair for Eleanor. Thanks Dianne! It was definitely the best "find" of the day.

Can You Find the Baby?

This is the newest way to entertain Eleanor while doing the laundry. It works wonders. Don't worry, she's in the clean clothes pile.

A Sleepy Girl, A Good Book and Laundry

Those are the highlights of our day today. Normal, boring and fairly uninteresting to you, I'm sure, but bliss for Ellie and I. Our little bug seems to be growing like a weed these days and is definitely teething again. I'm not enjoying the painful, fussy parts of that, but I must admit I love a warm, sleepy baby on my lap while I sit on the couch and read.

On the subject of reading, thank you for all the book suggestions! They gave me ideas, helped me remember books I haven't read in a long time or have been on my list to read and reminded me of books I've read before and maybe should read again. Along with the comments that were posted here, I also got a few emails and phone calls in response to my request. It was wonderful to hear from all of you in all the different ways you responded.

So, here is a complied list of the suggestions I received as well as a few of the books I tangentially thought of in response to your suggestions. Hopefully this will help any of you who are also in need of a good book...

The Mark of the Lion series (Francine Rivers)

The Brothers K (David James Duncan) - my favorite book of all time...

The River Why (David James Duncan)

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austin)

Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austin)

Mansfield Park (Jane Austin)

The Book Theif (Markus Zusak) - mentioned as a favorite twice...

The Once and Future King (TH White)

Peter Pan (JM Barrie)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulaine (Kate DiCamillo)

Replay (Sharon Creech)

Heartbeat (Sharon Creech)

James and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl)

Perfect Match (Jodi Picoult)

Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult)

The Nanny Diaries (Emma McLaughlin)

The Devil Wears Prada (Lauren Weisberger)

PS, I Love You (Cecelia Ahern)

Marley and Me (John Grogan) - also mentioned twice...

Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood (Rebecca Wells)

The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)

The Shack (William P Young)

The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)

A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)

The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)

Anna Karinina (Leo Tolstoy)

Seven Years in Tibet (Heinrich Harrer)

The Number One Ladies Detective Agency series (Alexander McCall Smith)

Zorro (Isabelle Allende)

Ines of My Soul (Isabelle Allende)

Daughter of Fortune (Isabelle Allende)

100 Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Harry Potter series (JK Rowling)

Cliff Janeway series (John Dunning)

JA Jance's Detective books

books by Tony Hillerman

Trinity (Leon Uris)

Redemption (Leon Uris)

Master and Commander series (Patrick O'Brien)

Walking the Bible (Bruce Feiler)

A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters (Madeleine L'Engle)

Little House on the Prairie (Laura Engles Wilder)

The Hero and the Crown (Robin McKinley)

Naria series (CS Lewis)

Walk Across America (Peter Jenkins)

The Walk West (Peter Jenkins)

Davita's Harp (Chaim Potok)

My Name is Asher Lev (Chaim Potok)

As I typed that list I realized it is really long! Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Dianne, Eleanor and I headed out to the library at the end of last week. I picked up a few of these... and am currently reading "The Time Quartet" by Madeleine L'Engle. It is all four of the "Wrinkle in Time" series books published in one volume. I'm thoroughly enjoying them again (I haven't read them since Junior High and High School). Sunday I read Wrinkle, yesterday I read Wind and today I'm a good way through Planet. They are perfect because they move quickly and thus I feel as though I've made progress even through a million Ellie interruptions. I'm getting a whole lot more out of them than I did before...

So, happy reading to you all. I must get back to my sweet Ele-monster.

Nanner Nanner Boo Boo

Ta Da!

We did it! The bathroom was totally completed by Tuesday night and ready for Dianne on Wednesday. We also got the basics of our Office/Guest Bedroom finished - so she does indeed have a place to sleep.

Here's the run down of all the work we (mostly Seth) did:

- patched all holes in the walls and ceiling

- cleaned away all flaking paint

- patched the places where the old sink, etc. used to rest

- added texture to the patches

- primed

- painted

- ripped out the old floor & all fixtures except the shower

- put in new flooring

- added baseboards

- installed a new toilet, pedestal sink, mirror, light fixtures, towel bars and shelves

- hung a new curtain

We still have flooring that matches to run out the door and through the hallway, but didn't quite have time to get that done before Dianne arrived. Hopefully we'll get to it here within a month or so. Then we won't have horrible, deadly nails sticking out of naked concrete! We also have plans to (someday possibly years from now) build and tile in a shower stall, put in a new window and add drywall and insallation to the far wall which is currently just concrete.

In the bedroom we painted and added baseboards. Some day we will put in an egress window, replace the other 2 windows, frame in the concrete walls, add drywall and figure out how to install a door (yep, it doesn't have a door!). I'm always surprised how much better a room looks with proper baseboards... maybe that's silly, but I find it to be true.

Anyway, now that all this crazy construction is finished we have room for guests. We easily have room for 4 people and a baby... but really could figure out something for whomever would like to visit. So, if you've got a hankering to visit good ol' Wyoming, just let us know. It's only a couple of hours to Yellowstone! We'll either meet you in the park to camp, or host you at our house. Seriously. Come visit.

Here are the before pics of the bathroom. You already got the nast pictures... these aren't much better though (and yes, they left the fabulous 70s curtains and bird picture)...

Do you know anyone who is looking for a vintage 50s vanity mirror with side lights? We know where to find one...

And now it looks like this:

Here's a glimpse of the downstairs bedroom before:

and after:

A Little Ellie Action

I know how much her grandparents like to see our little mover and shaker. So, here is a short glimpse of her scooting skills. Of course, I took this video over a week ago, so she's even faster and more efficient now!

What is it with kids and cell phones? It is seriously the only object I can hand to her or set out for her to play with that I'm okay with and she's okay with. She shuns most of her toys these days and heads for cords, drawers and big-people objects... and the cell phone is bliss.

Input Needed

I'm in desperate need of a good book. Now, unfortunately, I'm picky these days. I've picked up half a dozen books since moving to Sheridan and haven't finished a single one. Typically, I get through the first chapter or two and never quite make it back. Part of this is our chaotic, trying to get moved in life. Part of this is Eleanor. And really, I think most of it is: I haven't found anything really good lately. Now that the house is pretty much in order and we'll have a visitor for the next weekish I'm looking to relax - and a big part of relaxing for me is a good book and a cup of tea. :)

So, I need your input. Now, I know a bunch of you who read our blog are avid readers, so I know you'll have some ideas. The problem is, however, I know you don't like posting comments. Please, please, if only this time, click on the comment link and give me your suggestions! Don't worry if you think I've already read it, just give me your favorites.

Bedroom Bliss

I feel like it has been months since I said, "Our bedroom is really close to being done. I think my goal by the end of the day is to have it finished. Then all we'll have is the living room to really work on upstairs." Yeah right. Close to finished? Well, finally, it is done. Actually, it's almost done. I have yet to hang the long mirror that is propped up against Seth's closet wall... maybe in another month... :)

So, here are a few "before pictures." In some ways, they aren't really fair to the before room because all our junk was in the room, but just thrown there for storage and basic living. This is the only room in the house that I elected not to paint. At first I had grand hopes of painting it a pretty silvery-gray blue. Then I got sick of painting and decided the beige was actually fine and I could just decorate with blue and silver to get my desired feel. I'm pretty happy with the finished result. I still have days, however, where I think I might just pull everything away from the walls and start painting...

Also, this room used to be two small bedrooms. Somewhere during the house's 50 year life-time someone decided to knock out the wall between the two. Thus, we have one giant bedroom. Seth and I really like our big space, but it did pose a bit of an organizational problem - what do we do with most of the 2nd bedroom's space? The previous owners had that part of the room set up as an office and TV space. I personally don't allow TV in the bedroom and didn't really want to look at a desk from the bed, so that idea was scratched early. Eventually, we decided to use our "cube" as a room divider so I can have a craft and sewing space under the big window. This is great and I love how it turned out. I also love that I can now work on my creative stuff while Ellie naps and we're just one room from each other.

And here are the "after" pics:

An Extravagant Weekend

Okay. So, our weekend was packed with more activities and work that I thought was humanly possible and it leaves me questioning how exactly to blog about it. All our events are of such different types and foci that even blogging feels chaotic...

Chaotic. I think that is definitely my word for the weekend.

Friday night Amanda and I went to the WYO Theater in town to see Davide Cassida, a concert pianist, perform. He played 3 wonderful Schubert pieces and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. I hadn't known he was coming to town, but Amanda saw and ad for the concert and called me right away to see if I wanted to go. I'm super glad we went because A) I needed a night out, B) he's a wonderful player and it was a great concert, C) Pictures at an Exhibition is my favorite piano piece (although the orchestrated version is wonderful as well) and D) I was in dire need of some musical inspiration to get me back in "soon I will be teaching piano lessons again and I need to remember I have a musical side to my personality and skill set" mode.

Saturday I went to a Master Class Davide held with some of the local piano students. I was again glad I went, but still have some processing to do in regard to my perception of the local teachers, students and my own desire (or lack thereof) for teaching again soon. The class did help recharge my confidence in my listening and teaching abilities, however, and it gave me a great desire to start playing again myself. Unfortunately, however, the other events of our weekend made it quite difficult to simply hang out at home and play the piano...

The rest of our weekend was filled with a bathroom remodel, cleaning and the continued task of unpacking and organizing the house. Add a small child who has decided to army crawl with great speed and abandon toward all things dangerous and not-so-child-friendly as well as pull everything she can reach off of bottom shelves, and you've got yourself one exciting, action packed couple days.

The bathroom is not finished, but the work is coming along well. I'm trying not to stress out too much about it all, and I'm totally looking forward to the finished product...

Here are some pictures of the "before nast:"


And, it always has to get worse before it gets better...


I'll definitely post after pictures once we're completely finished. It already looks a million times better, cleaner and more finished.

Here's Ellie attempting to feed herself, a big challenge to our cereal eating moments:


And a little avocado action:


The other excitement (for me) is that I finally finished putting ur bedroom together. It is wonderful to finally have that space! I think I'll wait until tomorrow to post those pics, though - this post is long enough!

Winter is Here

So, I'm relieved Autumn lasted so long here in Wyoming - at least, much longer than I really expected - but, Winter arrived yesterday evening. All day the wind howled around the house. I don't really know how else to discribe it... I know I've read about "howling" wind, but now I've really experienced it. The windows shake, the roof shudders and the fan vents whistle as the wind whips around the house. The trees do these amazing acrobatic shudders... At first I wondered if it was just our house, but no, it's just Wyoming winds.

When we were first considering moving to good ol' Wyo we drove several times between SLC and Sheridan. This drive sports many beautiful views. One very common sight are huge windmills. I remembering driving along and thinking, "I'm glad this state is contributing to the clean energy effort. What a good way to take advantage of some of these wide open spaces." I didn't really think through the fact that huge, energy-creating windmills really need to be positioned in well winded areas... short-sighted, I know.

Then, as we were looking for housing, we learned of a special type of roof shingle that interlocks so that the wind can't catch the edges and rip the shingles off. Our house happens to have this type... and now we know why.

When I went to bed last night I lay awake listening to the eery sounds outside and watched the rain decorate our windows. I wonder if I will get used to these sounds. When I woke up this morning, however, the wind had stopped, snow covered the ground and the sun was shining cheerfully. It is a beautiful day! I think, if the sun continues to shine, I'll be able to deal with the amount of cold and snow we should expect over this rather long winter...

The Zen of Painting

Last night I was painting in our basement (pictures to follow quite a long time from now) and found myself finally relaxing after a couple of hard days with Ellie. Painting has felt quite time consuming, frustrating and messy with Eleanor in the picture - but when she goes to bed I find the space I used to love so much. Hopefully soon our basement bedroom and bathroom will be painted and feel like usable, clean spaces. Too bad I'll have to wait until midnight tonight to continue working on them...

Seth's parents visited us here in Sheridan back in the middle of November. We had a great time with them and really enjoyed their visit. During that time, Seth's dad, Jon, blessed us with his painting skills. He likes to paint (and does a wonderful job), so we put him to work. He also mentioned that painting is sort of a Zen-like experience for him... at the time I had forgotten my love for painting and thought he was mildly crazy. :) Now I remember... and understand.

So, Jon helped us get our bathroom and living room painted. Since then I've put most of the finishing touches on the bathroom and worked a whole lot on the living room, but haven't quite finished it yet. Hopefully I'll have living room pictures for you all here soon. Here's the upstairs bathroom, though:


Before:

After:

6 Month Well Check

Ellie had her 6 Month Check-up at the doctor's this morning. It was a nice day and Seth took the car to work (oh, yeah, I don't think I've mentioned we sold the pickup a couple of weeks ago), so Eleanor and I walked over to the doctor's office. It's about half the distance of our normal morning walks, so we both were a little disappointed to head inside quite so soon.

Everything about our little girl seems to be checking out just great. She's hitting all her developmental marks spot on, continues to be happy, keeps growing quickly and is sleeping pretty well.

Here are her newest stats:
She's 27 inches tall = 88th percentile
She weighs 15 lbs 15 oz = 47th percentile
Her head is 16.5 inches around = 34th percentile

More Makeover Madness

The changes around our house seem to happen daily, but at the same time, it is feeling like it takes forever for projects to get completed... probably a month or so ago I finished our hallway and dining room. This was the hardest space for me to plan so far. It was hard because both spaces are very transitional. The dining room is seen from the entry way and living room as well as the kitchen. The hallway obviously leads us into the bathroom and bedrooms.

Anyway, I finally decided on a creamish-ivory tone for the walls with a faux sponge finish over the top using the color I picked for the living room. Then I painted a canvas using the kitchen color and living room color as well as several brown shades in between the two. I also painted our dining room chairs using one shade darker than the kitchen walls with the decorative back spokes in the living room and kitchen colors. I added a couple of other canvases covered with fabric I used in the kitchen. I plan to eventually make some pillows for the living room using the same fabric.

All in all, I'm happy with the result. I have to say, it was all a lot more work than I really wanted during this moving process, but I hope we'll like it well enough to keep it like this for a long time.

Before:

And After: